Reconstruction begins on Elbert County Road 194

Construction began on Elbert County Road 194 in late March to replace a portion of the road that runs along the border with Arapahoe County.

The $2.4 million project includes deconstructing the existing roadway and replacing it with 20-year asphalt.

Elbert County’s director of roads and bridges urges motorists to select an alternate route during construction for the ideal outcome.

The road will be redone using a piece of equipment similar to an oversize rototiller, said Ed Ehmann, roads and bridges director. “Commuters can expect the road to remain open throughout the entire process.”

County Road 194 runs along the northern border of Elbert County, between Kiowa-Bennett Road to the east, past Delbert Road to the west. Reconstruction is taking place on about 4.25 miles of the road, from 1.5 miles east of County Road 29 to County Road 17.

The finished product is expected to last 20 years and begins with a concrete subgrade that is pivotal to laying the foundation for the road, Ehmann said. When the concrete subgrade is poured, that surface must remain traffic-free for up to 48 hours in order to protect the rest of the project.

Ehmann urges residents to abide by all traffic cones while the concrete sets; otherwise, construction of the subgrade has to begin from scratch.

“If traffic gets on it, it degrades the project and we have to start over because it breaks down the subgrade,” Ehmann said. “That process will start by mid-April and run through the first part of July.”

Construction is expected to be complete by the end of August. Construction will take place in four sections and the road will be down to one lane during the project, Ehmann said.

Traffic control will include flaggers during the day and automated signs during the night. The county will attempt to avoid nighttime work but reserves the option to work at night as the project nears its finish, Ehmann said.

“If we did any work at night, it will be when we do pavement,” he said.

The project is funded by the county’s 1 percent road and bridge tax and is being performed by Asphalt Specialties. The finished product will be similar to that used on the last four miles of construction on Kiowa-Bennett Road and the paved portion of County Road 17, just north of Elizabeth, Ehmann said.

Additional work during the project includes portions of county roads 29 and 17. A one-half mile section of County Road 29, just south of County Road 194, will be paved; and about 800 feet of County Road 17, on its approach to County Road 194, will be paved.

The county also opened the bidding process to repair about 12 miles of roads in other parts of Elbert County, including two miles of Delbert Road, just north of Singing Hills; all of Singing Hills between Delbert Road and County Road 13; and County Road 13 from Elizabeth town limits to Singing Hills/County Road 166. Construction on those projects is expected to begin before summer’s end, Ehmann said.

“We don’t have a start date yet,” he said. “But those will go a lot faster than the project on (County Road) 194.”

Reconstruction of County Road 194

What: Replacing 4.5 miles of the road with asphalt.

Where: On CR 194, from about 1.5 miles east of CR 29 to CR 17.

Details: Traffic will be routed through four one-lane sections. Traffic control will be in place throughout construction.